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...is the new black!

This week, we have seen how businesses use colour to enhance their promotional activities. We have also considered the agencies that specialise in predicting future colour trends.

Manufacturers use reports by trend prediction agencies to help them select the colours they will apply to new products. So does this process help manufacturers supply future demands by consumers acting with free-will? Or do colour trend prediction activities actually dictate what is or isn’t fashionable in ways that are unrelated to the natural shift in tastes of the consumer market?

Please share your reflections in the discussion space. Consider the following questions in your comments:

Joa Studholme says that the state of the economy can influence our colour preferences: that we need more tender colours when times are tough. To what extent do you think that social, economic and political factors give a steer towards future colour preferences?

Do you have an awareness of the colours that are currently in or out of fashion, and are you susceptible to fashion when selecting colour? How has this affected you?

How do you think that technological developments might impact on fashion – for example, if 3D printing gives you the means to create whatever you need on demand, how might fashion evolve when manufacturing does not have to be planned seasons in advance?

Does trend prediction lead the market, or does it have real insight into where we are going?